


Home for the Holidays

by BornToLose



Category: Guns N' Roses
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28242390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToLose/pseuds/BornToLose
Summary: Duff's mother invites you, his best friend, to the McKagans' holiday meal in an attempt to set you two up.(The actual fic based on the concept blurb Holiday Meal)
Relationships: Duff McKagan/Reader, Duff McKagan/You
Kudos: 7





	Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> I already wrote a short blurb three months ago and here's the long overdue full one-shot based on it! Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates!

_ "Duff, is (y/n) here?" _ his mother asked just before they were probably going to end the call.

"Uh, yeah."

Of course you were here. You were always at Duff's place and when you weren't, Duff was at yours.

_ "Can I talk to them?" _

"Sure," he said, giving you the phone.

"Hello!" you greeted her, smiling.

_ "Hey, (y/n)! Since Christmas is coming up, I was wondering if you'd like to join our holiday meal?" _

You knew nobody except the McKagan children and their own families were ever invited and since you were nothing more than Duff's friend, you were surprised she asked you to come. You helplessly looked over at Duff and he frowned because he didn't hear what his mom was saying.

"Y-yes, I'd love to," you eventually accepted, feeling slightly awkward, but still happy about the invitation.

_ "Great! I'll see you two on Christmas Eve, then!" _ she exclaimed before you said your goodbyes and hung up.

Duff sat down next to you, handing you a beer. "What did she want to talk about?"

"She invited me to your holiday meal," you murmured, hoping he was okay with you accepting.

His eyes widened and he turned to face you. "What? Why didn't you decline?"

"Because I didn't want to come off as rude!" you defended yourself, feeling a little hurt that he wanted you to turn down the offer. "It's basically an honor to get invited when you aren't even part of the family! It's not like we don't get along anyway…"

"Yeah, but… it's gonna be so embarrassing!" he almost whined.

You nudged his arm. "Calm down, it won't be that bad."

A month later, you and Duff were getting ready to drive to Seattle. It was already dark outside when he picked you up. It was going to be an eighteen-hour drive and you were setting off a couple of hours earlier so you wouldn't have to worry about being too late.

"I'm so sorry you're being put in such an awkward situation," Duff apologized as you got in the car. "If you wanna leave, you can now. I'll just come up with an excuse."

You shook your head. "Nah, we got this."

During the car ride, you listened to Duff's cassettes, singing along to the likes of Prince and Johnny Thunders at the top of your lungs. Driving with him was always fun, even in a situation that made both of you nervous. Like this one.

It wasn't even going to be a meet the parents situation - aside from the fact that you weren't even dating - since you'd known the McKagans for years and you should have no reason to worry. Still, you were nervous because this was the first time you were invited to what was basically a family get-together and although you and Duff were best friends, you were far from being a part of the family.

When you finally arrived in Seattle after many driver changes to let the other sleep for a few hours and many stops at gas stations, he pulled into the driveway. It seemed you were the first ones to get here - probably because Duff's siblings lived closer than the two of you and didn't need to leave their house twenty-one hours in advance.

"(Y/n)," he sighed, turning to you after clearing his throat. "Once again, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."

You rolled your eyes. "Duff, you don't need to apologize all the time. I like your family. Everything will be alright, it'll be fun," you assured him, squeezing his shoulder.

Both of you got out of the car and rang the doorbell. "Hello!" his mother said cheerfully, hugging her son first and then you, a wide smile on her face. "It's so good to see you again! Come in!"

After chatting for a while until Duff's brother Bruce came in, you went upstairs to his old room to change into fresh clothes.

"Wow, you… you look good," Duff stammered, taking in your outfit when you stepped out of the bathroom. You'd swapped your cream-colored sweater and worn out jeans for something suitable for a family dinner.

"It's not too fancy, is it?" you asked, biting your lip. It's been a while since you'd been to a family gathering and you hadn't been sure what to wear when you'd packed your suitcase.

"No, it's perfect." He smiled, looking down at his white button-up shirt and black jeans. "But it does make me feel a bit underdressed," he chuckled.

"Shut up, you look great." You lightly slapped his arm. "Let's go."

During dinner, everyone was catching up on each other's lives, talking about what they'd been up to since the last time they'd all been together. It was pretty calm and nowhere near as bad as you'd thought it would be, although Duff was growing visibly nervous over the course of the evening, which made you nervous too.

"Hey, (y/n)?" one of his sisters, Joan, said suddenly. "How long have you two been a couple?"

Completely dumbfounded, you started blushing as you thought of a reply that wouldn't lead to any discussions. Not tonight. She - and his other siblings, really - knew you had a crush on him for a while as well as that you were not even close to dating their youngest brother.

It only now crossed your mind that this was possibly the reason you'd been invited - to set you and Duff up. Maybe Duff knew their intentions and that was why he'd been so anxious since his mom had asked if she could talk to you last month. Maybe he didn't like you that way and actually didn't want you to come.

"You see," Duff answered for you, catching your attention as his hand found yours under the table. "We only recently started dating, but we'll keep it low-key for now and see how everything develops."

You nodded, forcing a genuine-looking smile and squeezing his hand. "Yeah."

Frankly, you were shocked, but now you had no choice but to play along. Sure, you would have liked for tonight to be special and you'd planned to tell him how you felt about him afterwards or even tomorrow, but not right now and not like this. Nonetheless, you made a mental note to ask him what the hell he was thinking later.

"I knew it!", "Congrats!" and "I always thought you'd be cute together!" were some of the expressions of enthusiasm that came from Duff's family.

You'd always thought you'd be cute together too, and you were glad someone finally said it so you didn't have to.

They didn't ask a lot of further questions besides the usual "who asked whom out?" You told them about how Duff had taken you on a picnic and he'd said he would like to be more than friends. Apparently, this adorable, kind of cliché, spontaneously made-up story sounded realistic enough to them and they wished the two of you luck before changing the topic again.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Duff was holding your hand and you didn't bother to remove it. You had to enjoy it while it lasted, even if it was only to keep up the facade, although nobody saw it anyway as your hands were under the table. The idea of a romantic picnic with him was lovely, but it would have been a thousand times better if that had actually happened and wasn't just an emergency lie.

Late at night, everyone was going to their respective rooms and so did you and Duff. Unsurprisingly, you had to share one too. "What were you thinking when you told your family we were dating?" you whisper-yelled after he closed the door behind him.

He bit his lip, looking down at his feet. "I was only joking, but I… nevermind."

Your eyes softened and you stepped closer to him. "You what?"

"I was…" He looked back up at you. "I was thinking about how nice it would be to actually be your boyfriend. I've been wanting to ask you out for so long, but I wanted to tell you at a better time."

Duff walked past you and sat on the bed, loosening the tie around his neck. "That's also why I freaked out when my mom invited you. I knew it was gonna be a disaster and it was going so well until Joan asked that goddamn question!"

"Hold on," you interrupted him, standing between his legs now. "You like me too?"

"Of course! How can I not?" he chuckled nervously, tugging at his hair.

"I thought you didn't want me to come," you whispered.

His head shot up and he swallowed as he noticed how close you were. "Are you kidding? My mom has been trying to get us together and every time I was about to actually ask you on a date, I backed down. I didn't think she'd take drastic action…"

You laughed quietly and cupped his face. "I'm not mad at you. I just wish we could have talked about this in private."

"Yeah, I know… Sorry, that joke was really stupid-"

"It was," you agreed, twisting your fingers in his hair.

He nodded and placed his hands on your waist. "But I must say the picnic date you came up with sounds neat and I'd like to take you on one for real when we're back in L.A."

You smiled and sat on his lap, kissing his cheek. "I can't wait."


End file.
